Recalling his own international experiences and the impact they had on his life Mr. Edward L. Hutton gave $9 million to the Indiana University Bloomington Hutton Honors College (HHC) in order to establish the original International Experiences Program. Subsequently named the Edward L. Hutton International Experiences Program (HIEP) and strengthened by further donations, the HIEP works to further Mr. Hutton's goal of expanding access to international opportunities for IUB students.
Since its creation in 2000, the HIEP has provided thousands of IU students with funding for international experiences through the HIEP Grant. The primary purpose of the HIEP Grant is to provide funding for high-achieving students seeking a variety of educational opportunities abroad. With combined endowments of nearly $11,000,000 to date, the HIEP Grant is the largest financial resource available to IUB students pursuing overseas experiences. The staff of the HIEP also serve as a resource for students, providing information about the benefits of an international experience, specific program opportunities abroad, and other sources of funding for study abroad.
In recent years, the HIEP has expanded beyond the grant program in order to offer other international education opportunities to IUB students. Recognizing a call for study abroad programs designed with HHC and other high-achieving students in mind, the Hutton Honors Study Abroad initiative was begun in 2016 to develop education abroad opportunities in an honors seminar-style format. The HIEP provided International Course Development Grants to faculty from across the IUB campus to develop program proposals and work in partnership with the HHC to plan and administer the programs abroad.
Keeping in mind Mr. Hutton's vision of expanding international opportunities for all IUB students, while also recognizing that not all students may be able to travel abroad as undergraduates, the HIEP has recently sought to provide more international programming on campus, including culture nights, film screenings, and the promotion of world language study at IUB. The HIEP is proud to collaborate with a variety of schools, departments, and institutes across campus in order to offer these events.